UPSC Prelims 2026 Q100: Multidimensional Poverty Index — Explained
Consider the following statements about Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI):
1. MPI is calculated using Alkire-Foster methodology.
2. MPI calculated by NITI Aayog has a total of twelve indicators.
3. Maternal Health and Bank Account are common indicators in the MPI of NITI Aayog and MPI of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 1, 2 and 3
- 1 and 3 only
- 2 only
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — Both the Global MPI (built by UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, OPHI) and NITI Aayog's National MPI use the Alkire-Foster method. This is a counting method. It records each person's deprivations across weighted indicators. A person whose weighted deprivations reach a cut-off (one-third) is counted as multidimensionally poor. The MPI is then headcount ratio (H) × intensity of poverty (A).
- 2: correct — NITI Aayog's National MPI has 12 indicators under three equally weighted dimensions: health, education and standard of living. It keeps the 10 indicators of the Global MPI and adds two of its own: maternal health (health dimension) and bank account (standard of living dimension). It is computed from National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data.
- 3: incorrect — Maternal health and bank account are exactly the two indicators NITI Aayog added for India. The UNDP–OPHI Global MPI has only 10 indicators: nutrition and child mortality (health); years of schooling and school attendance (education); and cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing and assets (living standards). These two indicators are therefore not common to both indices.
How to eliminate
You can reach the answer if you know one fact: the Global MPI has 10 indicators and India's National MPI has 12. If you know that, statement 2 is true, and the two extra Indian indicators cannot also be in the UNDP index, so statement 3 is false. The answer is then 1 and 2 only. You can also start from the options. Statement 1 is the best-known fact about MPI, since every MPI is built on Alkire-Foster, so treat it as true. That leaves only '1 and 2 only', '1, 2 and 3' and '1 and 3 only'. Statements 2 and 3 cannot both be correct together. If India had 12 indicators and both additions were also in the UNDP list, India would have nothing of its own to make up the extra two. So the real choice is between 2 and 3. A useful habit: when UNDP and Indian indices are compared, the 'common indicator' claim is often the trap. Remember: Global MPI = 3 dimensions, 10 indicators; National MPI = 3 dimensions, 12 indicators, with maternal health and bank account added.
Know more
Multidimensional poverty looks at what people lack (health, schooling, basic services), not just their income. The Alkire-Foster (AF) method was developed by Sabina Alkire and James Foster at OPHI, Oxford. It works in four steps:
- Each person is checked against a set of weighted indicators.
- Their weighted deprivations are added up into a deprivation score.
- A person with a score of one-third or more is counted as poor.
- MPI = H × A, where H is the headcount ratio (share of people who are poor) and A is the intensity (average share of deprivations among the poor).
UNDP and OPHI have published the Global MPI since 2010. It replaced the Human Poverty Index (1997–2009). NITI Aayog is the nodal agency for the MPI in India. It released the baseline National MPI in 2021 (NFHS-4, 2015-16). In July 2023 it released A Progress Review, which found that 13.5 crore people left poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21. In January 2024 a discussion paper estimated that the share of people who are multidimensionally poor fell from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23, about 24.82 crore people.
| Feature | Global MPI (UNDP–OPHI) | National MPI (NITI Aayog) |
|---|---|---|
| Method | Alkire-Foster | Alkire-Foster |
| Dimensions | Health, Education, Living standards (1/3 weight each) | Same three |
| Indicators | 10 | 12 |
| Health | Nutrition, Child mortality | Nutrition, Child & adolescent mortality, Maternal health |
| Education | Years of schooling, School attendance | Same |
| Living standards | Cooking fuel, Sanitation, Drinking water, Electricity, Housing, Assets | Same six + Bank account |
| Data for India | NFHS | NFHS |
| Poverty cut-off | 1/3 of weighted deprivations | 1/3 |
Keep the MPI separate from the income poverty line (Tendulkar, Rangarajan) and the World Bank's $3.00/day extreme-poverty line. Those measure consumption, not deprivations.
In the news
NITI Aayog's January 2024 discussion paper said 24.82 crore Indians escaped multidimensional poverty between 2013-14 and 2022-23. Government documents repeated this figure through 2025-26, and UNDP–OPHI released a new Global MPI in October 2025. Together these kept the National and Global MPI in the news before Prelims 2026.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Multidimensional Poverty Index: Explains the deprivation-counting idea behind MPI, which you need to judge the methodology and indicator claims in the statements.
- Human Poverty Index: The HPI is the UNDP index the MPI replaced in 2010. It helps you keep UNDP's poverty measures in order when comparing indices.